Hiring an engineer in Modesto, CA

Employers in the Modesto, CA area pay engineers, all other a median of $111,840, with the middle half of the market between $80,050 and $129,640. Modesto residents working in architecture and engineering occupations report a median of $87,355, which is 22% below what the metro pays for this role.

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What does an engineer earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Modesto, CA area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$80,050
Median	$111,840
75th percentile	$129,640

Half of engineers, all other in this area earn between $80,050 and $129,640. A band set below $80,050 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Modesto residents earn

$87,355

Median earnings of Modesto residents working in architecture and engineering occupations, 1,339 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 22% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

The role pays well above the local residential norm, which usually means you can hire from inside Modesto rather than competing for commuters.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Identify and recommend energy savings strategies to achieve more energy-efficient operation.
Conduct energy audits to evaluate energy use and to identify conservation and cost reduction measures.
Monitor and analyze energy consumption.
Monitor energy related design or construction issues, such as energy engineering, energy management, or sustainable design.
Inspect or monitor energy systems, including heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) or daylighting systems to determine energy use or potential energy savings.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 17-2199.

Tools and technologies in demand

Autodesk AutoCAD, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Python, The MathWorks MATLAB, C.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Modesto?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

That matters here, because 20.3% of Modesto adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a thin local pool for a degree-requiring role, so expect to recruit across the metro rather than inside the city. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Modesto commute runs 29.7 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 7.3% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Stanislaus County, architectural, engineering and related services employs 1,084 and turns over 6.3% a quarter, with 87 hires against 80 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $5,970 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5413.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about engineers, all other. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a low-churn market, where people do not move often and passive candidates are the whole game.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $22,368 to $33,552 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.